Weekend Box Office - Wolverine Slashes Into Summer Cash

Hugh Jackman may not be a foolproof box-office bankable (witness the financial flounderer Australia) but fit him up with a pair of adamantium claws and just sit back and watch the money roll in.

The quality of X-Men Origins: Wolverine was a bust with critics but audiences could care less when mutant special effects laden action are involved. The movie was an easy number one with $87 million, the second best X=Men opening after The Last Stand which banked $102 million. It's also a good sign that despite international financial woes, big budget movies can still turn a hefty profit. We may be in for a solid summer box office indeed.

The success may mark the beginning for another origins flick. Producers have indicated that the Magneto storyline would fly off the desk and into production if Wolverine proved his mettle. International numbers aren't available yet, but there's a good chance that he earned back his entire $150 million budget in the first weekend's sales worldwide. If that's not a green light, I don't know what is.

This weekend's distant second was the other newcomer, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. Matthew McConaughey's bizarre stroll down bedfellow lane marks a low point for the actor's box office performance. He usually draws openings of $20+ million for these sorts of romantic comedies, but against the likes of Wolverine and perhaps the fact that Matthew's face is starting to show those forty years, this one fell short of the mark.